6:00 PM ET | #8 Purdue at #4 Penn State | BTN | WSHY 104.3 FM

Saturday November 23

7:00 PM ET | #21 USC at #8 Purdue | B1G+ | WSHY 104.3 FM

West Lafayette, Ind. – In the penultimate week of the regular season, No. 8 Purdue volleyball opens at No. 4 Penn State on Thursday before hosting No. 21 USC for Senior Night on Saturday.

The Boilermakers (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) enter the week having won 13 of their last 15 games and are poised to take on a 25-2 (15-1 Big Ten) Nittany Lions team and an 18-8 (10) team to win. -6 Big Ten) Trojans team.

PLANNING NOTES

• There are only four games (two weeks) left in the regular season, three of which are scheduled.
• Every remaining game will be played against ranked or voting teams, with three on the way: at #4 Penn State (11/21), vs. #23 USC (11/23), at #11 Oregon (11 /27) and in receiving votes (RV) Washington (29/11).
• It’s the toughest schedule to end the regular season in Purdue volleyball history.
• Purdue had a string of five top-16 foes in six games, including three consecutive top-10 showdowns.
• Not only do 100% of Purdue’s losses go to current top-11 teams, 60% (4 of 5) go to current top-6 teams.

PURDUE’S 13-3 BIG TEN RECORD

• The team entered November with just three Big Ten losses, marking the second straight year and seventh time Purdue has had so few losses under Shondell in the league thus far.
• Compared to Purdue’s seasons with fewest Big Ten losses among Dave Shondell (2023’s 15-5 record, 2021’s 15-5 record and 2011’s 16-4 record), the 2024 and 2011 seasons are the only years the team has suffered three losses heading into the final four games of the regular season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. PENN STANDS AT A GLANCE

• Over the past three years, Purdue has a 3-3 record vs. Penn State.
• Purdue won the series last year vs. Penn State: W, 3-2 at home on 11/5/23 and W, 3-1 on 10/22/23.
• Last season, both teams reached the NCAA Regional Semifinals in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Penn State was #12 and Purdue #13 in the AVCA final poll.
• Penn State’s sweep of Holloway earlier this season was the first 3-0 result between the two teams since 2016.

THE NEED OF THE LAST WEEK

• Purdue has improved to its sixth straight win and 13-2 in its last 15 games after sweeps against Rutgers (25-14, 25-14, 25-16) and Illinois (2517, 25-20, 25-19). ).
• The Boilermakers had one of the best offenses in the league last week, leading the way in kills per set and assists per set, ranking second in shot percentage and with three separate Boilermakers topping the charts on the individual side: Lizzie Carr (.600%), Ali Hornung (5.17 digs per set) and Taylor Anderson (13.17 assists per set).
• Raven Colvin reached her 600th career block, the second Boiler in program history to reach the benchmark.
• The Boilers allowed just one lead change total last week (Set 2 vs. Illinois).
• Purdue earned a 0.370% score over Rutgers, led by Chloe Chicoine team leader with 16 kills at a .542 clip and just one count away from a double-double.
• Taylor Anderson’s 44 assists vs. Illinois marked only the second time a setter had the same number of assists in a 3-setter in the last seven years (other: Hayley Bush, 45 vs. Washington, 9/3/21).

PURDUE: FAST HITS

• Eva Hudson was named an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist, one of 14 in the country to receive the honor. Chicoine was also on the watchlist released in September.
• Purdue is 27-6 in sets won over the last 10 matches.
• The team is on a six-game winning streak and has won 13 of its last 15 games. This season, Purdue’s only losses have come among top-11 programs, with four among the top 6 in the country.
• The team ranks in the top 14 in the country in four different categories: kills/set, assists/set, hitting % and blocks/set.
• In seven of the last nine games, Purdue has held opponents under a .200 offensive percentage. In those games, Purdue hit above .300 in six and above .340 in three.
• Three Boilers average more than 2.0 kills per set: Hudson (4.68), Chicoine (3.18) and Colvin (2.46).
• Purdue is 70-25 in sets won this season.
• Purdue’s percentage (.283) would rank No. 3 in Purdue single-season history if things ended today. It would be so it is only the second time this century that the Boilers have struck so efficiently.
• Since Big Ten play started, Purdue is averaging two extra digs per set compared to their non-con action.
• First year DS Ryan McAleer has a perfect receiving percentage in 20 games, including the last nine straight games. Additionally, she recorded six aces at then-No. 16 Minnesota, tying the most ever for a Purdue freshman.
• Eva Hudson has been staged in the biggest games of the season. She posted a season high of 26 kills on a .349% at #2 Nebraska (and matched this with 26 kills on .350% in Indiana, 11/8), 17 kills vs. now #7 Wisconsin and had a nearly flawless match on now #12 Kansas, committing only one attacking foul in the final points of the game. She is averaging 4.63 kills per set and 5.06 points per set this season.

HUDSON: IMPROVING AS THE SEASON GOES

• Like last year, Hudson improves during Big Ten action. She has increased her kills per set (4.34 in non-con vs. 4.91 in Big Ten play), % hits (.279 in non-con vs. .296 in Big Ten), digs per set (2 .21 in non-con vs. 2.56 in Big Ten).
• In a head-to-head comparison of Hudson’s first ten matches of the season versus the last ten, she has increased offensive production: 5.58 kills/set versus 4.40, 0.324 hitting% versus 0.272%, and 198.0 total points versus 169.5.

PURDUE IN THE NATIONAL RANKING: 122 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS

• The program has been ranked for 122 consecutive weeks (since the 2017 preseason), the longest active streak in Purdue Athletics.
• Since the 2021 spring season, Purdue has been ranked in the top 10 for 38 weeks.
• The Boilermakers’ stellar history includes 57 of the past 72 weeks ranking among the top 15 (79%).
• Purdue has been ranked in the top-11 for the entire 2024 season (including preseason polling).

600 CAREER BLOCKS: RAVEN COLVIN

• Colvin reached her 600th career block vs. Rutgers.
• She is the second Boilermaker to ever reach this milestone, joining Purdue record holder Stephanie (Lynch) Harpenau (660 TB, 2005-08).
• She is also 19 block assists away from tying Purdue’s all-time leader Stephanie Lynch in career block assists.
• She ranks second in program history with 607 career blocks and 1.39 blocks per set.

SCOUTING #4 PENN STATE

• The Nittany Lions come into this rematch against Purdue with a 25-2 overall record and 15-1 in the Big Ten.
• Two-time All-American and 2024 AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist Jess Mruzik leads the team and ranks 4th in the Big Ten with 396 kills on the season, also averaging 4.35 kills per set.
• Freshman setter Izzy Starck has quickly adapted to college play and leads the Big 10 in assists with 1,054.
• The Nittany Lions are hitting a .290 clip as a team and lead the Big Ten in kills per set with 14.56
• Gillan Grimes leads the team from the service line, with a total of 31 aces this season.
• The Nittany Lions are coached by Katie Schumacher-Cawley in her third season as the team’s head coach.

SCOUTING #21USC

• The #21-ranked USC Trojans come into this matchup with an 18-8 record and a 10-6 record in the Big Ten. They play Northwestern on Thursday before facing the Boilermakers at Holloway Gymnasium on Saturday.
• The Trojan offense is led by senior setter Mia Tuaniga, who has 1,003 assists this season, which ranks fourth in the conference.
• USC’s defense up front has recorded 291.5 blocks, which puts them first in the conference with 20 team blocks.
• Middle blocker Leah Ford leads USC in hitting (.373) and ranks fourth in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.35).
• Outside hitter Ally Batenhorst leads the Trojans in kills (380) and is 2nd in digs (213). Batenhorst previously played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but transferred to USC for her final collegiate season.
• The Trojans are coached by Brad Keller in his fifth season as head coach.